Title

Author

Date of Award

2013

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS) in Dental Hygiene

Department

Dental Hygiene

Abstract

"Recommendations to alter the current dental coding system maintained by the American Dental Association (ADA) have been suggested by American Dental Education Association (ADEA), the American Dental Hygienists' Association (ADHA), and explored in various dental education and public health settings. However there is no research surveying dentists and dental hygienists in a regional format on what their opinions are concerning the current system and potential addition of diagnostic codes. This study was conducted primarily as a small-scale; quantitative non-experimental, descriptive, cross-sectional survey. A binary style survey was implemented using an Internet survey site and face-to-face interactions. The survey was distributed to dentists and dental hygienists in different dental practice settings including: private practice; managed care; corporate dental; public health; and education. The descriptive cross- sectional survey responses were analyzed as a whole to measure the attitudes of dentists and dental hygienists on the CDT codes pertaining to periodontal disease. In addition, data analysis determined if there were correlations based on: practice type; rural or metro geographic area; age; education; years in practice; and role of practitioner. Results show the participants (a) are not satisfied with the current coding system, (b) think periodontal treatment codes are lacking, (c) would support the addition to diagnostic codes, (d) believe accurate treatment tracking is impended by the current system, (e) would most likely not want to be finically impacted by the addition of diagnostic codes, (f) think their revenue is negatively impacted by the current system. These outcomes support an overhaul to the current coding system and an opening for more research to validate needed changes"--Document.